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21st Fund
21st Fund is an AI-driven financial intelligence platform designed to help startups secure capital without giving up equity. By utilizing “agentic” AI workflows, it automates the tedious process of scouring government databases, private foundations, and tax credit registries. The tool acts as a tireless analyst, identifying relevant non-dilutive funding opportunities that align specifically with a company’s industry, stage, and location.
Core Features
- Agentic Discovery Engine: Unlike passive search bars, active AI agents continuously monitor thousands of funding sources to surface new opportunities as they open.
- Smart Eligibility Matching: The system analyzes your startup’s profile—including revenue, sector, and R&D activities—to filter out grants you aren’t eligible for, saving hours of wasted application time.
- Hidden Capital Identification: Goes beyond standard grants to find obscure R&D tax credits and niche industry incentives that many founders overlook.
- Deadline Tracking: Automatically organizes opportunities by application due dates, helping teams prioritize which grants to tackle first.
How It Works
Users create a detailed profile of their startup, describing their product, technology stack, and business model. The 21st Fund AI agents then cross-reference this data against a vast, dynamic index of funding programs. Instead of a generic list, users receive a curated dashboard of “high-confidence” matches, complete with estimated funding amounts and direct links to application portals.
Best Use Cases
- R&D Heavy Startups: Ideal for deep tech, biotech, or AI companies that qualify for substantial government research grants (like SBIR/STTR).
- Bootstrapped Founders: Perfect for teams avoiding venture capital who need cash injections to extend their runway.
- SMBs & Main Street: Helps traditional businesses find local government incentives and modernization credits.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: drastically reduces the time spent on “funding research”; protects founder equity by focusing on grants; uncovers “free money” in the form of tax credits.
- Cons: Funding is never guaranteed regardless of the match quality; currently focuses on discovery rather than the actual writing of the grant application.
Pricing
Free (Beta) / Freemium: 21st Fund currently offers free access to its discovery features during its launch phase. Future premium tiers may include advanced features like automated application drafting or expert review.
How Does It Compare?
- OpenGrants: A comprehensive database that connects startups with grant writers. 21st Fund focuses more on the AI-led discovery rather than a marketplace of human experts.
- Grantify: Specializes in writing the application using AI and offers a “no-win, no-fee” model for specific large grants. 21st Fund is broader in its search scope but lighter on application support.
- HelloSkip (Skip): geared heavily towards small business owners and individual grants. 21st Fund is more optimized for high-growth tech startups looking for substantial R&D capital.
- MainStreet: Primarily focused on automating tax credits (like R&D payroll credits). 21st Fund includes tax credits but treats them as one part of a wider non-dilutive funding search.
Final Thoughts
21st Fund addresses one of the most painful contradictions in startup life: “free money” exists, but finding it is too expensive in time. By deploying agentic AI to handle the search and qualification process, it allows founders to reclaim hundreds of hours previously lost to navigating government websites. While it doesn’t write the grant for you yet, it ensures you never miss an opportunity you were perfect for.